The present invention relates to an electronic camera.
There has been proposed recently a picturephone employing a personal computer and an electronic camera. In this picturephone, a personal computer is connected to a network, and images including an operator and others image-picked up by an electronic camera are inputted in the personal computer to be exchanged each other through the network. However, it is necessary for images picked up to be exchanged through the network to be utilized like a picturephone, a personal computer and an electronic camera need to come into wide use.
However, an electronic camera available on the market has problems that it is expensive and large in size to come into wide use. One of the causes of the problems is that the number of parts is large.
From that viewpoint, it is considered to stop using a cover which interrupts light in the image pickup direction of an image pickup section of an electronic camera, because an image pickup section wherein image pickup is prohibited electrically is common in the case of an electronic camera. However, when the image pickup section of an electronic camera is left to be seen by a person of image pickup, an operator feels uneasy because he or she can not be sure that he or she is not photographed when he or she does not want to be photographed, which is a problem.
One of the causes making an electronic camera available on the market to be high in cost and large in size is that there is provided a variable iris for adjusting continuously an amount of adjustment of a quantity of light. Therefore, it is considered not to provide a variable iris for adjusting an amount of adjustment of a quantity of light, as in the case of a single use camera on the market. However, it is not possible to obtain appropriate images without providing at all a member for adjusting a quantity of light which is for adjustment of a quantity of light in the image pickup direction of an image pickup section, because an exposure latitude of the image pickup section of an electronic camera is usually narrower than that of a silver halide color negative film.
An object of the invention is to provide a small-sized and low cost electronic camera wherein light-shielding for the front portion of an image pickup section in the image pickup direction can be conducted easily by a cover, and a section to adjust a quantity of light can be positioned easily at the front portion of an image pickup section in the image pickup direction.
An exposure latitude of the image pickup section of an electronic camera is usually narrower than that of a silver halide color negative film, and it is therefore preferable that an amount of adjustment of a quantity of light can be adjusted.